The present invention relates generally relates to calculating apparatus and methods for chemical information and more particularly to an apparatus and method for improving the efficiency of gathering and manipulating such information in the laboratory setting.
The handling of information about chemical compounds, including recording their structures, making computations based upon the structures, and looking up structures and numerical data of compounds in reference materials, is often a time-consuming task. Chemists and other laboratory personnel working on complex chemical calculations or structures are made inefficient by the time and inconvenience associated with retrieval and processing of such information.
In addition, it is often preferable to express information about molecules or other chemical structures in graphical form. Apparatus that contain computer programs and high resolution graphic displays provide a means for the visualization of multidimensional molecular structures. These computer programs and computer models are often used by chemist and other technicians who work in a laboratory environment to better understand and predict chemical behavior. With this type of apparatus, a chemist can input a selected set of atoms and their bonds to define a chemical structure for display and analysis.
In one background art program, CS ChemDraw available from CambridgeSoft, the user initially draws the chemical structure and then can check the structure with a separate subroutine after the drawing is complete. This subroutine indicates problems with the molecular structure by highlighting. However, this program requires a computer with a desktop operating system and is limited in scope in terms of meeting the users overall laboratory needs.
Another example background art apparatus is the Lab Partner Chemistry Calculator from NuSun. The Lab Partner is a pre-programmed hand-held calculator designed specifically for chemical calculations. However, this apparatus does not allow graphical input or display of chemical formulas and structures.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to make an apparatus that has increased capability in a portable format available in the laboratory, as compared to the background art, and provide for a user's chemical data handling requirements in the laboratory and in a more user friendly application than those available in the past.